Photo by: Sean MacEntee
The content that is on websites and blogs are a key to search engine placement, but that content has to be natural and written for humans. That is a big change from what writers were expected to do years ago when keyword inclusion was more important than the actual message on the page.
Writers and domain owners have to focus more on providing a complete experience instead of only providing superficial experiences. Finding a content writer for your website that delivers user-focused content is critical to strong rankings today.
Are Keywords Still Important?
The use of keywords is still important, but those keywords have to be included in a manner that doesn’t make them seem forced into the content. Pages that are filled with keywords without having informative content aren’t going to rank high in search engine results.
Search engines have complex algorithms that they use to determine where websites are going to rank when users search for information. These algorithms aren’t made public; however, Google does keep webmasters up-to-date on some of the important updates to the algorithms. One recent update is that Google’s Penguin algorithm signal is now live.
Why Does Google Penguin Matter?
In the past, the information that Penguin provides to Google was only updated periodically. Now, Penguin provides that information in real time. This means that webmasters can see the fruits of their labor quickly instead of having to wait for a Penguin refresh.
Google Penguin is only one part of Google’s core algorithm. Penguin values pages based on the quality of information on the page. It devalues the page if there is spammy content or low-value content on the page. It also devalues pages based on the quality of the links on the page.
Is Google Penguin the Only Consideration?
The goal of websites now should be keeping readers engaged. On top of Google’s Penguin, the search engine giant also uses RankBrain and thousands of other points to help valuate pages. RankBrain is something that webmasters can’t optimize for. Instead, the page has to keep readers interested and interacting with the page. This can be by encouraging the reader to click through to other pages or to click through high-quality links.
How Can Websites Improve?
Domain owners should use a variety of media types to keep readers interested. Having valuable information broken down into easily digestible blocks won’t overwhelm readers and encourages them to keep reading. Rich graphics, videos, and other visual aids that bring written content to life can also help.
Websites must contain information that is credible. This means that the information is not only accurate and verifiable, but that it is grammatically correct and free of errors. Frequently updating the website and the pages can also help with search engine rankings. Many webmasters and domain owners are busy and simply can’t keep up with the necessary updates and keep the quality at the high level that is necessary to keep search engine placement. That is where having writers who are familiar with the current best practices for website engagement and search engine placement to handle the content creation for the pages.
